Courcelette was Canada's main
battlefield on the Somme in 1916; 8,500 Canadian soldiers died here between
September and November 1916. In total more than 24,000 Canadians became
casualties here. All four Canadian Divisions fought at Courcelette; along with
many famous Canadian figures: among them - Canon Frederick Scott, Robert Service
and Talbot Papineau.

Part of the ever-popular ‘Battleground
Europe’ series, this in-depth guide to the Courcelette battlefield covers
all the major actions from the capture of the village to the attacks on Regina
Trench and Desire Trench. Many of the photographs included in the book have not
appeared in print before and there is a harrowing eyewitness account of the
attack on the Sugar Refinery by a veteran of the 21st Battalion Canadian
Infantry.

The guide section includes suggested
routes both by car and on foot, and there is comprehensive information about the
cemeteries and memorials connected with the fighting at Courcelette. The Armourer
Magazine highly recommended this book.

" A great book, like pretty
much all of those in the Battleground Europe series, really! Packed with
detail, good maps, good pictures, and flowing text, and as its Paul Reed, you
can be sure that its been well researched, and very accurate. I'd single this
book out as being indispensable if you get the chance to go to the Somme, and
just try some of the tours advised in the back- excellent stuff!"howes77 from UK, January 28, 2005

" Another excellent addition
to the Battleground series, detailing the Battle of Flers - Courcelette in
Sept 1916. Focuses on the efforts of the Canadian divisions who bore the brunt
of this sector of the Somme battle which had developed into a war of
attrition. Also covers the first major deployment of tanks in the War. Fine
use of photographs and maps to take the reader step by step through the
dreadful fighting that ensued. It also identifies individual acts of bravery
that is quite humbling to a modern day reader cocooned from the harsh
realities of war." Peter Wilding,
Warwickshire, England, March 1, 2001

"This excellent Pen and
Sword series is enhanced by an excellent account of the Canadian Corp
engagements at Courcelette during the late autumn months of 1916. The
Canadians fought in some of the worse terrain during September; October and
November 1916 gaining much ground around the village of Courcelette and the
awful German trench system of which Regina Trench was the longest stretch of
single trench which existed on the Western Front at that time. The book gives
very good accounts of what happened during those months. It is also a great
human account too; many stories are told of heroism, fighting against
impossible odds across heavily cratered ground in order to clear the enemy
defences before the winter finally brought the battles to an end.

I cannot rate this book too
highly for it is well researched with numerous photographs of the battlefield
as it was in 1916, and also how it looked during the post war years. Moreover;
it is also useful for the battlefield visitor with numerous tours set out in
detail with recommended visits. A worthy memorial too for the many Canadian
soldiers who fought and died on the Somme and whose remains were never
recovered."eredfearn2 from
Middlesbrough, Cleveland United Kingdom, December 2, 2004